The main force of the German 23rd Army Corps withdrew to the vicinity of Brunei City, leaving the Island Nation's Army's operations in eastern Borneo free of any further obstruction. In barely a week, all of eastern Borneo had fallen under the Island Nation's Army's control.
However, the Germans had taken away every supply they could carry during their retreat, and destroyed everything they could not. This included airfields and the like. Even many of the roads had been wrecked. Thus, although the Island Nation's Army had occupied eastern Borneo, it could not make use of the region's infrastructure. Still, successfully taking eastern Borneo left the Island Nation's Army's generals highly satisfied. After all, the Netherlands East Indies Expeditionary Army had nearly been wiped out previously without accomplishing this objective.
On April 3, Lieutenant General Masaharu Honma, commander of the 14th Area Army of the Island Nation's Army, met with Lieutenant General Seiichi Tanaka, commander of the 7th Area Army, and Lieutenant General Akito Nakamura, commander of the 18th Area Army, in Bintulu. Though they held the same rank and their positions were comparable, Southern Army Headquarters had already issued orders placing the 7th Area Army and 18th Area Army under Lieutenant General Masaharu Honma's command. Lieutenant General Seiichi Tanaka and Lieutenant General Akito Nakamura could therefore only obey Lieutenant General Masaharu Honma's orders.
"Tanaka, Nakamura. Afraid of our overwhelming strength, the Germans have now voluntarily withdrawn from eastern Borneo. That is undoubtedly good news for the Empire. But the main force of the German 23rd Army Corps entrenched around Brunei City still poses an enormous threat to us. If we cannot eliminate these Germans, we will never be able to fully occupy Borneo. We will even have to constantly worry about their counterattacks. After all, though their troop numbers